Mass Communication (CMMN)

CMMN A100 Introduction to Mass Communication 3 crs.

This course is a survey of the various fields of Mass Communication taught at Loyola and specific preparation for courses taught in the school. Consideration is given to philosophical foundations, historical development, current trends and status, organizational structure and career opportunities.

Required for Mass Communication majors with a minimum grade of C (2.0).

CMMN A101 Communication Writing 3 crs.

This course discusses the basic kinds of writing used most frequently in the media, informative and persusive writing.

$75 fee for non-majors and part-time students. Required for Mass Communication majors with a minimum grade of C (2.0).

This is a hands-on course designed to introduce mass communication majors to the field of digital communications. Students learn critical thinking skills about the technology used to produce mass media messages in modern American society. They are be introduced to visual theories as well as elements and principles of design for several key media: video, print and the web. The digital communication student leaves this course versed in current media technologies with a critical understanding of its use in creating memorable and meaningful communication materials.

$75 fee for non-majors and part-time students. No prerequisite. Required for Mass Communication majors with a minimum grade of C (2.0).

CMMN A225 Elements of AP Style 1 cr.

This course will teach the stylistic requirements of the Associated Press Stylebook. Using online instruction (web video, interactive online testing and Power Point presentations), along with written exams, this class will guide students chapter-by-chapter to understand the rules of usage that govern the mass communication industry.

No prerequisite.

CMMN A250 Journalism 3 crs.

This course introduces students to news values and to the basics of news writing, reporting, visual story telling and editing. Considerable time is devoted to directed practice in news writing and visual story telling.

This course involves the creative use of two-dimensional space, using visual perceptions, principles of graphic design and their application, use of type in design, graphic interpretation, basic formats of advertising and public relations layout.

The course covers the technical skills and the aesthetic understanding needed to produce quality photographs with a digital still camera. Emphasis is given to the composition and content of photographs during regular lab and critique sessions. The course also explores the significance of photography in both historical and contemporary contexts.

Videography builds skills in visual storytelling. Students work with digital video cameras to shoot, write and edit video news stories including several video news packages, one of which must focus on a social justice topic.

This is a study of the elements involved in advertising copy including concept, visualization, and understanding the prospect. Attention is given to the various media alternatives and how to write effective copy in each medium.

This course focuses on the study of media planning and research as it relates to the overall advertising and marketing process. Specific areas covered include media terminology, advertising and media research, selection and evaluation of media, and media resources.

This course concerns the development of contemporary public relations practices with emphasis on solving communications problems within organizations and institutions by applying appropriate theories and techniques.

This is a laboratory course in writing for a variety of media in the context of public relations work including directed practice in preparing news releases, employee publication materials, copy for brochures and newsletters, and copy for television and radio.

This course focuses on strategic planning and management of advertising and public relations cases in business, government, education, or community.

Minimum grade of C (2.0).

Prerequisite: CMMN A310 with a minimum grade of C (2.0) or CMMN A316 with minimum grade of C (2.0).

CMMN A335 Strategic Event Planning and Promotions 3 crs.

This course looks at events in terms of relationship building within the context of public relations function. It develops events as a means of strategic communication. Students will analyze case histories, plan and execute events.

The goal of the course is to develop an understanding of the role of the journalist in covering the courts and to enhance the ability to cover the judicial process in a responsible and professional manner.

This course gives the student practical experience in reporting and writing with academic evaluation. Campus news coverage and beats are assigned for use on The Maroon, the university student newspaper.

$75 fee for non-majors and part-time students.

Prerequisites: CMMN A250 with a minimum grade of C (2.0), plus one other journalism course.

CMMN A360 Advanced Layout and Design 3 crs.

This course concerns creative design applications, designing with grid, contemporary advertising layouts, brochure and folder production, logo and symbol design, posters and billboards, and direct advertising, including the use of desktop publishing and various graphics communications computer applications in production.

This course presents an application of the elements of news coverage of environmental issues. Includes discussion of a variety of complex environmental challenges and provides the opportunity to explore disparate points of view. Students will use and sharpen their reporting and writing skills and analyze complex and many-sided issues.

Each offering of the course is different, since the content of the course is based on current issues and developments within the media. May be repeated for credit when topic varies. The 300-level focuses on media skills.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

CMMN A380 Social Media Strategies 3 crs.

Exploration of current and common social media platforms with an emphasis on practical application. This is a results- and production-oriented class focused on communication strategies, content creation and successful outcomes.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

CMMN A380 Travel journalism 3 crs.

This course provide an introduction to travel journalism: what it is; what it can be and what it may evolve into in an era of mobile media. Students learn to convey the essence of place through nonfiction writing.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

CMMN A380 Tropical Communications 3 crs.

An overview of the ecology of tropical ecosystems coupled with approaches to covering issues especially pertinent to the tropics, followed by two weeks in the field in a tropical country studying the plants and animals in several different ecological zones: coral reefs, pine savannah, rain forest, mangrove swamps.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

CMMN A400 Mass Communication Theory and Research 3 crs.

This is an advanced course tracing development of mass communications research from its origins to work recently published in academic journals. Students will be introduced to research methods and participate in one or more research projects.

An analysis of the nonprofit and public sector industry and integrated communications within these organizations. Students study organizational typologies and classifications, social and ethical issues, theories of public vs. private and how these affect message, publics, and media issues. The course includes classic and contemporary readings.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

CMMN A414 Advertising Captstone: Advertising Campaigns 3 crs.

This course is the culmination of coursework in the advertising sequence. This is a practical application of advertising theories in assigned projects. Students will be treated as professionals in the workplace.

This course exposes students to the experience of working on a major national advertising account in an advertising agency environment. Each student should leave this course with portfolio material and hands-on experience in the field of advertising. Offered in the spring semester only.

This course is the culmination of coursework in the public relations sequence. This course examines case studies and typical public relations problems culminating in development of specialized communications materials to gain reaction and support from target groups. Students will be treated as professionals in the workplace.

This course gives students the opportunity to create and implement a campaign for a national public relations client in a public relations agency environment. Students experiment with various research, planning, and writing processes introduced in courses required by the public relations sequence. Offered in the spring semester only.

$75 fee for non-majors and part-time students.

Prerequisite: CMMN A317 with minimum grade of C (2.0) or permission of the instructor.

CMMN A450 History of Journalism 3 crs.

This course examines the development of American journalism from the colonial period to the present.

Minimum grade of C (2.0).

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

CMMN A451 Media and American Courts 3 crs.

This course helps students develop an understanding of free press/fair trial issues (including historical perspective, significant people, current controversies and academic research) as well as an appreciation of award-winning coverage of the judicial system.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

CMMN A452 The Great Journalists 3 crs.

This is a study of those outstanding American and English writers, who have by their literary skills, vision, and sometimes by their character, profoundly influenced modern journalism. When some are novelists and essayists as well as journalists, the relationship between their several careers will be studied.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

CMMN A453 American Women Journalists 3 crs.

This course is an interdisciplinary study of the lives and writings of prominent American women who, through their talent and their commitment, have had a significant impact on both American culture and American journalism.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

CMMN A455 Media and Gender 3 crs.

This course examines the impact of media’s gender images on individuals, society, and culture. Participants will learn to be more critical consumers of media messages, specifically in terms of gender representations, to think and to write critically about their responses to and use of media products, and to develop different perspectives to interpret pop culture and media messages.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

CMMN A465 History of Photography 3 crs.

This course is a history of photography from its invention to the present. Attention is given to the aesthetic criteria and the historical context of photographic work, as well as to the ways photographs have been used from the era of the daguerreotype to the computer-based image.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

CMMN A470 Mass Persuasion 3 crs.

This course is a study of commercial and political propaganda and their impact on society.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

CMMN A471 Mass Communication Literature 3 crs.

This course is an advanced course focusing on one specific author or school of thought or genre in the existing mass communication literature. Strong emphasis is placed on reading and class discussion.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

CMMN A473 International Media Systems 3 crs.

This course is a survey of the media of other countries. Comparisons in values, patronage bases, freedom of expression, and similar concerns are the heart of the course.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

CMMN A474 Ethics of Mass Communication 3 crs.

This course examines the moral principles that order the work of the communications professional, the social responsibility of mass media institutions and the individual responsibilities of the practitioners.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

CMMN A475 Environmental Communication 3 crs.

Presents an overview of how environmental information is expressed in mass communications and associated theory of the field. Important environmental theory and issues will be discussed. Students use and sharpen their writing skills, learn how to evaluate scientific information, and study issues with conflicting data.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

CMMN A480 Current Trends 3 crs.

Each offering of the course is different, since the content of the course is based on current issues and developments within the media. May be repeated for credit when topic varies. The 400-level is a theories-related subject matter.

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

CMMN A484 Seminar in Mass Communications Ethics 1 cr.

This course examines the moral principles that order the work of the communications professional with an emphasis on case discussion. Prerequisites: Senior standing.

Minimum grade of C (2.0). Required for all Mass Communication majors.

CMMN A490 Journalism Capstone 3 crs.

This course is the culmination of coursework in the journalism sequence. Students will use all their research, writing, reporting, electronic and social media skills as though they are in a professional newsroom.

An internship is supervised practical experience. May be repeated for credit when workplace varies.

Required for all Mass Communication majors.

CMMN A492 Senior Seminar in Mass Communication 1 cr.

This course prepares students to enter the global mass communication industry and offers all the tools necessary as students begin searching for their first jobs. Students create resumes and portfolios for professional purposes and fine-tune their job hunting and leadership skills.

This course focuses on the creative or productive efforts of one or more students. A special project is distinguished from a research project in its lack of the historical or experimental method and perspective characteristics of research. A formal proposal is required in which the student clearly sets forth what he/she proposes to do. A reminder: the average three-hour course is supposed to account for 145 hours over the semester.

Prerequisite: Special arrangements required.

CMMN A496 Seminar/Workshop (arranged)

A seminar is a supervised group of students sharing the results of their research on a common topic. A workshop is a supervised group of students participating in a common effort.

Prerequisite: Special arrangements required.

CMMN A497 Internship (arranged)

An internship is supervised practical experience.

Prerequisite: Special arrangements required.

CMMN A498 Research Project (arranged)

This course focuses on empirical or historical investigation, culminating in a written report. A formal proposal is required in which the student clearly sets forth what he/she proposes to do. A reminder: the average three-hour course is supposed to account for 145 hours over the semester.

Prerequisite: Special arrangements required.

CMMN A499 Independent Study (arranged)

A formal proposal is required in which the student clearly sets forth what he/she proposes to do. A reminder: the average three-hour course is supposed to account for 145 hours over the semester.

Prerequisite: Special arrangements required.

CMMN T121 First-Year Seminar 3 crs.

Introductory Common Curriculum

The gateway course to the Common Curriculum is the First-Year Seminar (FYS). This issues-based, interdisciplinary seminar introduces students to college-level thinking and learning as well as Jesuit values at the core of a Loyola education. This FYS has a specific topic within the scope of Mass Communications. A full list of currently offered FYS courses can be found on the Loyola Online Records Access (LORA) system.

CMMN O202 Game as Art 3 crs.

Advanced Common Curriculum: Creative Arts & Cultures

This course teaches students how to understand, examine, and critically analyze digital media and digital games as aesthetic objects. The course places digital games in a historical context of other games and sports and examines how previous forms of play are influenced by digital media.

CMMN X236 Understanding Media 3 crs.

Advanced Common Curriculum: Social Science

This is an examination of the different mass media, with special attention to their historical and technological development; to the economic aspects of mass communication including media conglomerates and cross-media ownership; to the theories of communication; to the collection and dissemination of news; and to the international aspects of communication.

This course satisfies an Advanced Common Curriculum Behavior/Social Science Modern requirement for students who began their program of study before fall semester 2013.

CMMN X237 Media Play 3 crs.

Advanced Common Curriculum: Social Science

This course examines the aesthetics of media use, with special emphasis given to interactive experiences with digital media. Students examine classic and contemporary theories of media, cognition, and social behavior to better understand play and entertainment within a mass-mediated society.

This course satisfies an Advanced Common Curriculum Behavior/Social Science modern requirement for students who began their program of study before fall semester 2013.

Dates to Remember

Fall Term 2015

August 19-23Undergraduate New Student OrientationAugust 24 Classes BeginAugust 28 Add deadlineSeptember 4 Last day to dropOctober 23 Last day to withdraw & Last day to apply for graduationDecember 11 Last day of classesDecember 12-18 Final exams

Spring Term 2016

January 15Undergraduate New Student OrientationJanuary 19 Classes BeginJanuary 22 Add deadlineJanuary 29 Last day to dropMarch 18 Last day to withdraw & Last day to apply for graduationMay 11 Last day of classes for UndergraduatesMay 12 Last day of classes for Graduate and Evening coursesMay 13-19 Final exams for UndergraduatesMay 16-19 Final exams for Graduate and Evening coursesMay 21 Commencement - All Colleges